THE PRESIDENT: Please be
seated. President and Senator Clinton, thank you all for
being here. We have come here to pay our respects to 125 men
and women who died in the service of America. We also
remember 64 passengers on a hijacked plane; those men and women, boys
and girls who fell into the hands of evildoers, and also died here
exactly one month ago.

On September 11th, great sorrow came to
our country. And from that sorrow has come great
resolve. Today, we are a nation awakened to the evil of
terrorism, and determined to destroy it. That work began the
moment we were attacked; and it will continue until justice is
delivered.

Americans are returning, as we must, to
the normal pursuits of life. (Applause.) Americans are
returning, as we must, to the normal pursuits of life. But
we know that if you lost a son or daughter here, or a husband, or a
wife, or a mom or dad, life will never again be as it
was. The loss was sudden, and hard, and
permanent. So difficult to explain. So difficult
to accept.

Three schoolchildren traveling with their
teacher. An Army general. A budget analyst who reported to
work here for 30 years. A lieutenant commander in the Naval
Reserve who left behind a wife, a four-year-old son, and another child
on the way.

One life touches so many
others. One death can leave sorrow that seems almost
unbearable. But to all of you who lost someone here, I want
to say: You are not alone. The American people
will never forget the cruelty that was done here and in New York, and
in the sky over Pennsylvania.

We will never forget all the innocent
people killed by the hatred of a few. We know the loneliness
you feel in your loss. The entire nation, entire nation
shares in your sadness. And we pray for you and your loved
ones. And we will always honor their memory.

The hijackers were instruments of evil who
died in vain. Behind them is a cult of evil which seeks to
harm the innocent and thrives on human suffering. Theirs is
the worst kind of cruelty, the cruelty that is fed, not weakened, by
tears. Theirs is the worst kind of violence, pure malice,
while daring to claim the authority of God. We cannot fully
understand the designs and power of evil. It is enough to
know that evil, like goodness, exists. And in the
terrorists, evil has found a willing servant.

In New York, the terrorists chose as their
target a symbol of America's freedom and confidence. Here,
they struck a symbol of our strength in the world. And the
attack on the Pentagon, on that day, was more symbolic than they
knew. It was on another September 11th -- September 11th,
1941 -- that construction on this building first began. America was
just then awakening to another menace: The Nazi terror in
Europe.

And on that very night, President Franklin
Roosevelt spoke to the nation. The danger, he warned, has
long ceased to be a mere possibility. The danger is here
now. Not only from a military enemy, but from an enemy of
all law, all liberty, all morality, all religion.

For us too, in the year 2001, an enemy has
emerged that rejects every limit of law, morality, and
religion. The terrorists have no true home in any country,
or culture, or faith. They dwell in dark corners of earth.
And there, we will find them.

This week, I have called -- (applause) --
this week, I have called the Armed Forces into action. One
by one, we are eliminating power centers of a regime that harbors al
Qaeda terrorists. We gave that regime a choice: Turn over
the terrorists, or face your ruin. They chose unwisely.
(Applause.)

The Taliban regime has brought nothing but
fear and misery to the people of Afghanistan. These rulers
call themselves holy men, even with their record of drawing money from
heroin trafficking. They consider themselves pious and
devout, while subjecting women to fierce brutality.

The Taliban has allied itself with
murderers and gave them shelter. But today, for al Qaeda and the
Taliban, there is no shelter. (Applause.) As Americans did
60 years ago, we have entered a struggle of uncertain
duration. But now, as then, we can be certain of the
outcome, because we have a number of decisive assets.

We have a unified country. We
have the patience to fight and win on many fronts: Blocking
terrorist plans, seizing their funds, arresting their networks,
disrupting their communications, opposing their sponsors. And we have
one more great asset in this cause: The brave men and women
of the United States military. (Applause.)

From my first days in this office, I have
felt and seen the strong spirit of the Armed Forces. I saw
it at Fort Stewart, Georgia, when I first reviewed our troops as
Commander-in-Chief, and looked into the faces of proud and determined
soldiers. I saw it in Annapolis on a graduation day, at Camp
Pendleton in California, Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. And I
have seen this spirit at the Pentagon, before and after the attack on
this building.

You've responded to a great emergency with
calm and courage. And for that, your country honors
you. A Commander-in-Chief must know, must know that he can
count on the skill and readiness of servicemen and women at every point
in the chain of command. You have given me that confidence.

And I give you these
commitments. The wound to this building will not be
forgotten, but it will be repaired. Brick by brick, we will
quickly rebuild the Pentagon. (Applause.) In the
missions ahead for the military, you will have everything you need,
every resource, every weapon -- (applause) -- every means to assure
full victory for the United States and the cause of
freedom. (Applause.)

And I pledge to you that America will
never relent on this war against
terror. (Applause.) There will be times of swift,
dramatic action. There will be times of steady, quiet
progress. Over time, with patience, and precision, the
terrorists will be pursued. They will be isolated,
surrounded, cornered, until there is no place to run, or hide, or
rest. (Applause.)

As military and civilian personnel in the
Pentagon, you are an important part of the struggle we have
entered. You know the risks of your calling, and you have
willingly accepted them. You believe in our country, and our
country believes in you. (Applause.)

Within sight of this building is Arlington
Cemetery, the final resting place of many thousands who died for our
country over the generations. Enemies of America have now added to
these graves, and they wish to add more. Unlike our enemies,
we value every life, and we mourn every loss.

Yet we're not afraid. Our cause
is just, and worthy of sacrifice. Our nation is strong of heart, firm
of purpose. Inspired by all the courage that has come
before, we will meet our moment and we will prevail. (Applause.)